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This sheet music was newly engraved from early and authoritative editions. ... Read more

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This sheet music was newly engraved from early and authoritative editions. ... Read more

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Charles Sanford Terry (1864-1936), Historian and Bach Scholar.He studied at St. Pauls Cathedral Choir School as a solo boy, King's College and Lancing.He studied history at Cambridge and lectured in history at Durham College of Science and at Aberdeen.He spent much of his life devoted to Music and to Bach in particular.He started choral societies in both Newcastle and Durham.He wrote extensively on Bach.Walter Emery said that his biography of Bach was "the only one that is both detailed and readable".I have a theory that it is easier to read books by musicians who were trained in English or history. ... Read more

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Believed to have been dictated by J.S. Bach to one of his students at the Leipzig Thomas-Schule, the Precepts and Principles for Playing the Thorough Bass or Accompanying in Four Parts is the most important teaching document of Bach's to have survived, providing insights into his teaching of harmony and fugue, and perhaps on his compositional process as well.Heinrich Schenker made use of Precepts (which he called Bach's Generalbassibuchlein) in the formulation of his analytical system.

Here is a translation, commentary, transcription of the music examples into modern notation, and complete facsimile of this treatise.The 48-leaved manuscript, in which the hand of Bach's pupil Carl August Thieme (1721-95) has been identified, consists of thorough basses, studies in fugue writing, as well as figured basses and cadence patterns suitable for keyboard practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

This book "rescues" Bach
What you have done is to rescue Bach from the rationalists, even as you show him to be the greatest man of reason that the musical world has ever known. It is this apparent anomaly - the idea that this supremely reasonable man was also a man of faith - that infuses your writing and lends tension to it. This is also the Mystery that the seeking Christian must grapple with and come to terms with.It recalls Einstein's unshakable faith in God, and Aquinas's proof of God's existence based on the design of the Universe.

-William A. Kromer

Organist, St. Mary's Episcopal Church,Downsville, NY

Inspirational / Educational
Here's a review from Andrea Ivanov-Craig, in Christianity and the Arts Magazine

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"If you love God," says J. S. Bach in Bach's Passion, "you do everything at the highest level of competency." And so should we all, if we all weren't so profoundly fallible.

RuthAnn Ridley's fictionalized life of "the greatest composer of church music" fleshes out many of the central conflicts faced by Christian artists and creators of all kinds. It is a novel of great inspirational value and good educational and historical interest.

Readers should be prepared for a long but engaging read, and, at the end, an excellent introductory glossary of terms, footnotes, a bibliography, and a "Word from the Author" regarding the novel's historical accuracy.

Ridley narrates Bach's life (1685-1750) basing each chapter and major character on true incidents and people. However, scholarship suggests that interpretation of Bach's personal life and motives is highly controversial. Although legends and anecdotes exist in abundance, personal correspondence and other acceptable documentation is scarce.

One recent source plainly states that there is no evidence that Bach's church music was especially important to him (Jan Koster, "Biography,").

Another source points out that even listening to the approximately 1,120 pieces Bach composed would still not reveal who Bach was (Sandberger, Bach 2000, Teldec Classics International 1999, p. 2).

Yet it is precisely Ridley's willingness to map out Bach's artistic and spiritual journey according to a faith in a personal God that affords this novel value. As a young man, Bach receives his summons while listening to a scriptural aria in a cathedral: "He would write a new and deeply personal music for the Lutheran liturgy, one that would woo a person into the love of the Divine Bridegroom" ( p. 50). We discover that the dark and eerie "Toccata and fugue in D minor" was an "effort . . . to deal with the heartbreak of losing their twins" (pp, 17-18).

Throughout his life, Bach encounters conflicts so common to many of us: professional jealousy; recognition of self disguised as the need for the recognition of God's glory; and perhaps, above all, the responsibility of vocation versus family. Bach is absent enjoying the intellectual heights of conversations with artists and philosophers while his first wife, Barbara, undergoes a miscarriage. Even more poignantly, Bach lingers on another such trip and misses her death and burial by two days.

Through this portrayal, Ridley also researches and gives us a snapshot of the lives of middle-class women in seventeenth-century Germany. Though she deeply loves him, Barbara grows estranged from Bach when he discounts her own spiritual struggles. Anna, the second wife, is encouraged by Bach because he recognizes her as a person and an artist in her own right, unlike the other male figures of her day.

As well researched and inspirational as the novel is, its still greater value is that it leaves readers wanting to learn more. Interested readers should thus consult recent biographies and scholarship, and certainly, listen to more of the music "that compels people to become involved, that raises them up into the God who became man" (p. 249).

- Andrea Ivanov-Craig, Christianity and the Arts Magazine

Exceptional Research
In RuthAnn Ridley's "Bach's Passion," the reader meets Bach, his family and his compatriots as living people. The characterizations and the descriptions of dress, customs and music of the time reflect exceptional research of Bach's life and times. An excellent glossary and bibliography relating to Bach are an added bonus.

- Herbert Colvin, Professor Emeritus of Music Theory: Baylor University

Intro for young readers
I enjoyed the attempt to bring Bach alive - Ridley shows creativity and passion for her subject.I rated only 2 stars because it read more like an introductory or children's book than a serious bio.Some problems I'd raise in a musicology class: Bach worked from texts, rather than texts being set to already-composed music; harpsichords are not curved like a piano; it's anachronistic to imagine Bach composing with a modern piano in mind. Young readers however should enjoy getting an empathetic portrait of Bach's surroundings and the major events of his life.

Fills a need for creative persons who are also Christians...
Few books explore the unique struggles of artists attempting to integrate the demands of talent with their Christian faith.In fact, much writing about historically important artists simply ignores their faith; deeming itirrelevant to their art.Ridley¹s book doesn¹t.The author takes bothspiritual committment and creativity seriously and, using Bach¹s life asher medium, explores the challenges of integrating passion for art withpassion for God. Bach¹s Passion, presents the author¹sfictionalized portrait of the life of Johann Sebastian Bach from youngmanhood in 1701 to his death in July of 1750 at the age of 65.This periodincludes two marriages which undergirded his great musical outpouring andhis constant determination, for God¹s sake, ³to leave nothing mediocrebehind². A writer, musician, and Christian herself, Ridley aims tomaintain historical accuracy while offering the reader well-groundedspeculation on Bach¹s concrete dilemmas with creativity, career, andfamily. She grapples with Bach¹s struggles over his desire forrecognition versus servanthood through his music; his attempts tocomprehend God¹s plan for his life and work, his deep frustration with thepolitics of the music world, and his final question:had his life counted? These themes are woven with personal issues like Bach¹s desire for happyfamily life;his search for understanding companionship, and hisheartbreak over the problems of his children.She also includes a poignantpostlude on the ultimate fate of Bach¹s work. I deeply appreciateRidley¹s honesty in not iconizing Bach as an untouchable, irreproachablesaint.She writes as one who has lived the tension between faith and art,and her constructions of Bach¹s life events and his responses to them ringtrue. Bach¹s Passionwill be prized by anyone facing the challenges,agonies, ecstasies, uncertainties, and appeals to God, which Bach underwentwhile seeking to realize the full potential of the talent God gave him. For such as these, Bach¹s Passion is a much needed companion for thejourney. ... Read more

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This sheet music was newly engraved from early and authoritative editions. ... Read more

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This sheet music was newly engraved from early and authoritative editions. ... Read more

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This book (published in German by Barenreiter in 1988 and now available in English translation for the first time) is a comprehensive guide to the genesis, transmission, structure, meaning, and performance considerations of Bach's St John Passion. One of Bach's most fascinating works, its text demonstrates a profound understanding of St John's Gospel. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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8-part guitar ensemble arrangement designed for beginning/intermediate classroom use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring - Piano/Organ Duet
The music itself is good.However, the description did not say that you get 2 copies of the music, so I ordered 1 for the pianist and 1 for the organist.Now I have enough music for 4 people.

wonderful edition well worth it
Included is an 8 page arrangement for piano and organ including pedal notation. Printing is dark and pages large and well spaced. I'm still learning this piece. The version I learned previously included only few verses an edit from Cantata 147 in simplified notation. This version has more voicings so it's harder for me to play but it sounds lovely. I will be busy with this for a while. ... Read more

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This collection includes 13 of the most often taught pieces from the large Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach. Special highlights include a composer biography, history of the notebook, research notes on each piece, and written out ornaments. A must for all teachers and students. ... Read more

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The libretti of Johann Sebastian Bach's church cantatas, which function in parallel to the liturgical propers of the Sundays and festivals of the church year, are rich in biblical language and imagery. In this pioneering work of systematic research, Meyer demonstrates in detail how these liturgical libretti quoted and alluded to the text of Luther's German Bible. The book, which has been compiled with the interests of both scholar and performer in mind, assists the fundamental understanding of the liturgical functions of these cantatas of Bach, as well as being an important resource for further theological, musical, and linguistic study. Cantatas are grouped by liturgical use or church festival. An extensive index listing of Cantatas in numerical and alphabetical order increases the usefulness of this book, which is also an important contribution to our knowledge of this distinctive genrea of late baroque poetry. The text is in both English and German. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1884-85.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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Each of Bach's six French suites is written in a different key with no harmonic relationship to one another, unlike most of his other works. Within each suite, all of the movements are in the same key and follow standard binary form. In the traditional Baroque suite, there are four movements: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue. However, Bach also includes lesser-used dances such as the Polonaise, Bourée, and Air. Noted Bach expert Dr. Hans Bischoff edited this collection. ... Read more

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As with all Alfred Masterwork Editions, the 13 selections of this book appear in their original, unsimplified forms. Menuets, marches, musettes and preludes comprise this carefully edited volume for early-intermediate pianists. Background material describes dance forms, ornamentation and dotted rhythms. Editorial indications for tempi, dynamics and articulations appear in gray print, and are based on scholarly research. It provides a valuable introduction to the keyboard works of this master composer.

Pianist Scott Price has beautifully recorded all the pieces in the book, included on Compact Disc. He is the chair of the Piano Department at the University of South Carolina and holds a doctorate in piano performance from the University of Oklahoma. He has given master classes and recitals throughout the United States and Southeast Asia. His recordings are featured in Alfreds Premier Piano Course. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

so-so
[Note:This is a review of "Chopin:First Book for Pianists," edited by William Palmer and published by Alfred's.There are other books with similar titles, and Amazon has been erroneously cross-posting this review to the Mozart and Beethoven books in the same series.I don't know how to fix that.]

I really like this series -- I'm not so hot about this particular outing.

This Chopin book belongs to a handsome series edited by William Palmer, the author of the well-known ALFRED'S PIANO COURSE books and editor of much else besides.The idea is that, once you're finished with that course, if you've got a hankering to explore the work of some composer, these books await you as the next logical, seamless step.

The two other books I have in this series, the Bach one and the Mozart one, were very well done.They dumbed down a handful of the famous pieces, and included many notes on the composers would use the pedals, trills, etc.It was great.Palmer's Bach book in particular helped me when I finally started playing unsimplified Bach.

But this book is not quite the same thing, though it's in the same series.It's shorter, for one.But the real problem is that these pieces are not watered down at all.They're pieces are in their unsimplified, original forms as Chopin wrote them for his students.So get ready for that.As Palmer writes in the book:

"Chopin did not earn his livelihood by performing. He gave very few concerts, and most of these were presented in small chambers. he was most famous as a composer and teacher, and since he was obliged to teach many students, he composed quite a number of selections which can be played by students in the early grades without simplification.This book contains these pieces, each of which is a miniature masterpiece bearing the stamp of Chopin's genius." (p. 24)

So it's mostly simple mazurkas and preludes.There are no polonaises or noctures, or any Chopin tune you're likely to recognize.There's only one Waltz -- a posthumous one.

KINDLY NOTE that the entire contents of this book are entirely included in the thicker and more comprehensive "Chopin: An Introduction To His Piano Works (Book & CD) (An Alfred Masterwork Edtion), as they warn you on the very first page.In fact, I would strongly recommend you buy that one, as the first few pages contain vital discussion of Chopin's style of ornamentation that is completely missing from this thinner one.

Mozart First Book for Pianists

This is an excellent collection for a well motivated student of two or more years. My talented student is 7 years old and was excited to play the pieces. The pages are cleanly edited and the selections appealing. It was especially helpful to hear them. I highly recommend the book.
Wareham teacher ... Read more

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A biography of the prolific eighteenth-century composer and organist who created some of the world's greatest instrumental and religious music. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great read for children
My 3 year old son listens attentively and asks questions about the story whenever we read it (which is often). It is well written and gives a quick synopsis of the character. ... Read more